Partnerships taking Flight

The sky’s the limit for medical tourism in India.  Some of India’s leading private hospitals, such as Apollo, Fortis, Wockhardt, and Escorts Heart Institute are either considering or are in the early stages of building partnerships with foreign airlines to further promote the medical tourism industry there. 

Loosely modeled off of comprehensive tourism and travel packages in which customers can select an airline, hotel, and sightseeing tour all from one source, these medical tourism packages could make the process of getting in and out of the country that much easier and better serve the needs of the international patients who want to come to the country for medical care.   

The airline-hospital partnership would provide special packages for patients, in-flight promotions, complementary health check-up at hospitals for airline passengers, and guaranteed seats for the patient and his or her companion.

Wockhardt Hospitals Group chief executive officer Vishal Bali said, “Several hospital chains are exploring options to increase the foreign patient inflow in India through partnerships. With international air fares becoming attractive and affordable, such alliances may reap rich dividends.”  

This is simply one example in many of the medical tourism industry reaching out to other sectors to not only make the experience better for the patient, but also promote one another’s respective markets.  For instance, in South Africa, there are many clinics that offer packages that include personal assistants, visits with therapists, trips to beauty salons, post-operative care in luxury hotels, and even wild safaris. 

Of course, there are numerous private medical tourism companies that have established partnerships with some of the leading hospitals in India and around the world, that arrange comprehensive packages including transportation, accommodation and other travel needs, in addition to the medical facility arrangements.   

But this new initiative in which some of India’s biggest hospitals are connecting directly with international airlines is something completely new.  And, while it hasn’t fully gotten off the ground, It is a very intriguing and exciting possibility to those in the health tourism and airline industries.     

“Though we haven’t entered into tie-ups with any hospital or medical organization, we are studying this market,” said Foo ChaiWoo, general manager-India, Singapore Airlines, which is currently mapping out viable air routes and exploring the idea of establishing partnerships with hospitals.  “The concept is very new and comprises a niche target segment.” 

It’s just one more innovative idea taking flight in an already innovative industry.